"street signs," everybody. >> "closing bell" is coming up next. see you same time tomorrow. hi, everybody. welcome back. welcome to the "closing bell." we have a special edition of the "closing bell" today. i'm maria bartiromo coming from you live today from oracle, the open world conference in san francisco. we have the interview you've been waiting for on the horizon. don't miss my interview with oracle ceo larry ellison. we have his take on oracle's future, how he's making a splash in and out of the executive suite and of course the economy and business in america as well as globally. we're going to talk with him at 4:30 p.m. eastern. before that, we have some heavy hitters coming up, including the former yahoo! ceo and the coca-cola ceo. all of a that coming up in the program. meanwhile, let's get back to the markets. we have a double-digit decline. in fact, it looks like the dow is on track to close lower for the sixth time in eight trading

sessions. the dow jones industrial average now at 13,436, a decline of about 0.5%. if we close lower today that, would be the sixth decline in the last eight trading sessions. a bit of worry about earnings on the trading horizon, as we are expected expecting the stream of earnings to take effect. weakness in apple today. it is about 5% of the s&p 500 and 20% of the nasdaq. so as apple goes, so goes the market. that's what we're seeing once again today. s&p 500 down about five points. that's 1/3 of 1%. with markets in the red, let's look at what this says about where we are in business today. joining me in today's "closing bell" exchange, we have aaron gibbs from s&p capital iq, rob morgan, our own rick santelli, and bill griffeth at new york stock exchange. >> we were a little tardy getting started here, but we're

all set to go. the dow was down 90 points. we're just off those lows as you pointed out. erin gibbs, how much of this do you think is the market anticipating earnings? >> i think that's a lot of it. there are quite a few positive trends coming out of the market. the ism above 50. chrysler and toyota have been posting record sales. but there is this huge wall of worry that we can see throughout the entire quarter that earnings have going to come down. >> and there's that fiscal cliff problem that we've got as well. >> yes, any minor detail of the fiscal cliff that we're worried about as well. >> maria? >> well, you have to wonder if, in fact, it's also just a tired rally. you know, we've been having a very good performance in stocks as investors react to the central bank easing around the world. is this a fundamental selloff? do you think the big pools of money are still going to be there chasing stocks going into year end? how do you see it, rob?

>> maybe rob is not hearing you either. >> rob, are you with us? all right. some technical issues here. rick santelli, jump in here. let's talk about what you're seeing in chicago. >> bill, i can hear you. i couldn't hear maria. >> i'm wondering if you're seeing the beneficiaries in fixed income today. >> i wish we were. i wish we were. normally when you see a drop in equities, yes. you see lower yields because people buy treasuries. but it isn't happening very much today. certainly we're at a lower yield than we settled yesterday and a basis point lower. in the end, the key is over the last five sessions, maria, we've close between 161 and 165 yield. we're going nowhere quickly here. i think the deterioration in stocks is just a little bit of white noise, maybe people listen to ben bernanke yesterday. it just didn't add up. i can't tell you what was going on. >> what didn't add up, rick? how about the milton friedman stock? i know you've been all over that

all day, so i brought a quote for you, rick. >> uh-oh. >> i brought a quote. milton friedman in his own words. now, rick, i know what you said, that anna schwartz -- >> i figured you were on for a reason today. >> what's that? >> i figured you were here for a reason. >> go ahead. >> i'm here to talk about jobs, but if we could have an aside, discussion, me and rick on the side. here's what milton friedman said in his own words in 2000. now the bank of japan's argument is, oh, well, we've got the interest rate down to zero, what more can we do? it's very simple. they can buy securities and they can keep buying them and providing high-powered money in until the high powered money gets the economy in an expansion. >> must have been a fun dinner conversation around the friedman table. >> exactly. >> i'm only talking about credit crisis issues. only give me quotes after the summer of '08 like from anna schwartz who basically said it's not the same problem as in the depression. >> right. but what we're saying is what milton friedman said for

japan -- >> i don't have a problem with his issue in japan. i just have a problem with his credit crisis plan. >> all rig >> all right. i didn't figure i could get anywhere. caveat adp tomorrow. it was way out of line last time. looking for 153 tomorrow. ism manufacturing, look for the jobs component and services inside that. there's the nonfarm payrolls around that 118. been around that mark for quite some time. now i'm done. sorry, guys. >> all right. let's bring rob morgan in. the question that maria asked you before that you couldn't hear, rob, was whether or not you feel this is a tired rally that we've been in for a while. i mean, six of the last eight sessions were down in the u.s. stock market here. but nothing has really changed in the fundamentals of the news we've been getting to warrant that. so what do you think is going on here? >> yeah, bill, it is certainly a bit of a tired rally. earnings are going to be

terrible. i think we all know that. but looking out a little bit longer term, earnings estimates are starting to rise a little bit. maybe third quarter earnings will be a trough. sentiment is terrible, which is obviously a good thing for stocks. there's a lot of money on the sidelines. as we get towards the end of the year, fund managers are behind their benchmarks. they could be putting that money to work and stocks are cheap. yeah, it's a bit tired. when alcoa starts off the season next week, don't expect great guns. i think a little farther out i still like stocks here. >> you still like stocks here in terms of alternatives. i guess there aren't many, right, rob? you're seeing all this money moving into equitieequities. what do you make of technology here? that was the leader on the up side. do you still want to be a buyer at these levels? >> maria, my favorite sectors are financials and industrials. i do like apple. it's our favorite technology pick. overall, i'd be neutral on the

technology sector. >> erin, let me get your take on that. who do you like right now? you're cautious on this market. you want to play it safe, but who do you like? >> right now i'm looking at a lot of consumer discretionary, particularly companies that are more focussed with their sales in the u.s. versus europe, so not having that international exposure. one of my favorites, we love those telecoms. >> still paying the dividend. keep the income stream going. all right, folks. nice to talk with all of you. >> thanks, bill. >> steve and rick, get along, would you? okay. where were we, maria? how's san francisco? >> everything's good. it's gorgeous here. i didn't realize how hot it would be. we're following the oracle story. they made some big announcements here about the cloud. we have a market that is about to really focus on fundamentals, i think.

>> we were down about 90 points at the low. the dow is down 66 now with about 55 minutes to go today. >> don't go anywhere. we've got much more ahead on this huge edition of the "closing bell." coming up, shooting from the lip. outspoken and controversial former yahoo! chief carol barts weighs in on the future of the tech giant and whether it's heading in the right direction. plus, the oracle of oracle. maria sits down for an exclusive interview with larry ellison. what game changing products does the firm have in the pipeline, and what will the free-spirited ceo buy next? find out straight ahead. and class action. in another exclusive, the man in charge of settling claims against convicted sexual offender jerry sandusky talks to

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where can back, everybody. about 50 minutes left in the trading session. if you're just joining us, get you caught up on the markets. near the lows of the session. stocks seeing red today on concerns about third quarter earnings still to come and uncertainty about when spain will request a bail youout. the prime minister said that word is not imminent. that was the word he used. right now the dow is down. the materials, technology, consumer discretionary all dragging the markets lower at this hour. maria. >> bill, you know her exit from yahoo! as its ceo just over a year ago was, let's say, not a smooth one. first carol bartz received the

news via a phone call. then she wrote a good-bye e-mail to employees. she was sure to mention she was fired over the phone. despite that tumultuous end, she's still a force to be reckoned with. she's at "fortune" magazine's most powerful women summit. marissa mayer on the cover of that magazine. joining us now from the fortune summit in laguna, california, is former yahoo! ceo carol bartz. thank you for joining us. >> good to see you. it's so bright here i have these shades on. i'll try. if i squint too much i'll put them back on. >> i understand. you do whatever makes you comfortable, chairl. thank you very much. your successor at yahoo! just unveiled her plan for the company. she's focusing on personalization, mobility, and investing in projects that reach 100 million users or $100

million in revenue. what do you think? what's your take given your experience at yahoo!? is this the right way to go? >> i think he's right on. i think she's a good choice for yahoo!. she's got a lot of energy, a lot of experience. you know, during my tenure, we had talked about personalization, of course mobile, you know, getting more engage ed users. i think she's right on the mark. she's a great gal. >> and the company recently sold its stake in ally baba, returned the cash to shareholders. was that a good move? under your tenure, the relationship was a bit strained, right? >> well, that was a little bit overblown, but we were actually working a long time to figure out the valuation and how to do this, at one time we had hoped, tax free. i'm very proud of the team, including my ex-cfo.

they really put together a good plan with alibaba. which ever way they do it, probably share buy back, i actually have no idea, that's good for the shareholders. >> you know, it seems to me that it's a real crux or sort of a dilemma that you face when you're in technology and sort of a proponent of, you know, information flow across the world and dealing with a government that withholds information. how do you balance that? of course, i'm talking about the chinese. >> well, that was actually, you know, there were a lot of issues around that. not only with alibaba but also with all of the users in china. to make sure that we were doing the right thing for everyone relative to freedom of information, so that's not going to go away any time soon. it's just going to have many chapters. we're probably only in chapter three. >> what a tremendous fall.

i mean, shareholders obviously, yourself included, have watched the company lose a tremendous amount of market value. you think yahoo! can get it back? >> i think they can. think still have almost 800 million users. everybody likes to down play that. it's the third biggest group of users on the web. you know what's interesting is as i go around, if i get, you know, 30 miles outside of silicon valley, people love yaho yahoo!. they're always telling me about yahoo! mail and how they get their information. so i don't think they're nearly as cynical or abused as perhaps the press would make it. >> do you regret not being able to do a deal at a much higher price with, for example, microsoft? >> i wasn't there then. so i don't -- >> should it have been done?

>> you know, should have, could have, ought to is silliness. you know, who knows what was going through management and the board's minds at that time. sure, looking back, of course. just like the guy should have caught the pass. those refs should never have blown the green bay game. >> right. >> how did you like that look? >> i like it. i like it. you're also sitting on the board of cisco and ceo john chambers recently said whoever wins this election should govern like bill clinton as he spoke about clinton's effectiveness. what's going on from your view sitting on the board of cisco, having the experience that you've had at yahoo! tell me how you see the environment changes and where specifically you would expect growth to happen in technology in the next five years. >> well, i think technology in general -- probably the biggest challenge is not so much the social interactions but

everybody's talking so much about data. data is very, very hard to mine correctly. so i think you're going to see a push back towards a lot of enterprise apps that really figure out how it get information to the companies so they can actually be more personalized for the user, but easy to say, a lot to do. >> and really quick, on what you're seeing out there, how tough is europe right now for technology? what are you seeing in terms of the global slow down? >> well, europe continues to baffle us in general in technology. it looks like it's getting softer, not stronger. you know, companies that diversified over the past 20 years do make sure they had good portfolios in all the regions, you know, are taking a hit now with europe. i think it's broad based, so it

shouldn't be a knock on any one company. we all know the issues. you better than anyone. >> carol, it's good to have you on the program. thanks so much. enjoy the rest of the fortune summit. >> thank you. >> we'll see you soon. carol bartz joining us in california. 40 minutes before the closing bell sounds for the day. we have a market off the lows right now. down about 67 points on the industrial average, bill. >> they are two of the world's largest software companies, but which is the better bet for your portfolio? we're talking about oracle and microsoft. we'll have that trade for you coming up next, maria. and speaking of oracle, ceo larry ellison might be the world's most interesting man. he flies planes, races yachts, and bought a hawaiian island. he's running the company he created 35 years ago. he's with me exclusively later today on the "closing bell." stay with us. if you are one of the millions of men

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welcome brak. technology in the spotlight. techs meanwhile dragging the market lower today. bertha coombs is here with the details. amazing that apple is representing 20% of the nasdaq. there you have it. apple's down again. >> apple's down again. the other big caps aren't helping either. apple fights on that 50-day moving average. the stock has now been down seven of the last nine sessions since the iphone 5 made its debut. spoke research saying watch the numbers 651.99.

a drop below there would certainly move it below the 50-day moving average. meantime, google, which has been on fire, also lower today. really retreating after hitting yet another new all-time high this morning. interestingly, research in motion is one of the day's biggest gainers on an fbr price target upgrade. also, microsoft on renewed reports that maybe it may be looking to do a smart phone. speculation also sending leap wireless higher after pcs looks like it might be acquired and bnc software exploring a sale. back to you guys. >> all right, bertha. we're going to stay with technology as we continue to monitor oracle. it's worth noting that its recent strong performance has been lagged by competitor microsoft. let's find out which would be a better buy right now as we start talking numbers. on the technical side, ennis tanner. on the fundamental side, walter

pritchard. let's start with the charts. who looks better? >> i like oracle a lot more. let's look long term first. then we'll talk short term. we look long term. oracle is well above, almost 30% above the 2007 highs. so after that bull market, it's shown its long-term fundamental strength. it's trading up at $31. in the short term we can see in 2012 it made a high in march. it's made a higher high now. the short-term strength is confirming the long-term strength. in microsoft, we have the opposite case. we have a situation where the long-term five-year chart shows a stock well below its 2007 highs. it's a longer-term declining business. in the short term we see a lower high over the last six months. >> so you want to go by the strength? >> i'm a buyer of strength. the long term and short term, when they agree, it makes a stronger case for oracle. >> okay. walter, what do you think? apple or microsoft?

>> purely from a fundamental perspective, we like oracle. you have oracle with a new product. you know, their business is still majority database. they have a new database product that ships toward the end of the year. it tends to be a tail wind for their business when that's happening. on the microsoft front, you have windows 8. everybody is talking about it. we think the initial reception will be somewhat tepid. we think you have to have touch-base hardware to really take advantage of the product. we don't think you're going to see reasonably priced touch-base hardware in the windows ecosystem until sometime next year. that's why we have sort of our bias towards oracle at this point. >> even though we are seeing relative strength by microsoft today. gentlemen, thank you both. a little take there. i'm sure there's somebody that's going to be very happy, maria, that they like oracle over microsoft right now. >> yeah, and we know my special guest later on will come down on this. don't miss a rare and exclusive interview today with oracle ceo

larry ellison at 4:30 p.m. eastern time. that's ahead on the "closing bell." meanwhile, this market is down. the dow jones industrial down about 65 points now. then today the securities and exchange commission tackling the market impact of high-speed trading. is that why these firms are moving to regulate themselves? plus, coca-cola is king. the best brand for the 13th year in a row. the ceo is with us outlining his strategy to keep that streak alive. he'll say if he thinks the global economy is slowing down like so many other executives. that and more coming up. stay with us. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 this morning, i'm going to trade in hong kong. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 after that, it's on to germany. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 then tonight, i'm trading 9500 miles away in japan. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 with the new global account from schwab, tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 i hunt down opportunities around the world

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here's a question being asked in washington today. does the high-speed trading industry need a speed limit? the sec has been hosting a round table of industry leaders on how to prevent the flurry of trading technology break downs that we'd seen recently like the flash crash of a couple of years ago and the night trading debacle of a few months ago. amon is in washington with details. >> hi, bill. well, it's a monster session. i can tell you that they started

at 10:00 a.m. this morning. they're now on panel two. they are still going through the afternoon. they expect to wrap up around 4:00 p.m. we have traders representatives of the exchanges, reformers, outside academics, all offering their thoughts on how to reform high-frequency trading and the trading architecture technologically that underlies so much of what goes on on wall street. at this forum, the sec chair said the firms themselves have an incentive to get this right because they stand to lose so much money. >> but perhaps the strongest message from the night capital episode is that the party committing an error may very well end up bearing a massive financial loss, and if there is a financial loss to be incurred, it is the firm committee nearer that should suffer that loss, not its customers or other investors. >> and bill, one of the things they're looking at here, an idea kicked around a lot today, is this question of whether or not there should be exchange-wide kill switches and whether or not those should be automatic or if

human beings should have to intervene to decide to throw that kill switch or not. a lot of interesting ideas here in washington today, bill. >> for sure. amon, thank you. i'll take it. bob has been all over this high-speed trading story from the get go. anything getting accomplished here, bob? >> yeah, there is. so this wasn't so much about high-frequency trading. it was really about dealing with all these technology problems. look what happened with night. they had a program that started. number one, the code was written wrong. that was the first problem. after it started running, they couldn't shut it down. so there was two problems. one was there was a software glitch, and they talked today about developing better practices for developing more consistent code. you need to write the code better. that's number one. they discussed that. number two, what about the program that started running and they couldn't shut it down? that's what the kill switch is about. so i think it's a very good idea to have a kill switch. you got to figure out under what circumstances you're going to use it, but believe it or not,

that was a major problem. it ran 45 minutes in the case of night. nobody was able to shut it off. they could have shut it off in three or four minutes, we wouldn't be here talking about it. >> one of the benefits of the high-speed trading system is the speed. it's in the name itself. computers are able to do what humans are not. but what about amon's point that they're discussing in washington today on the role that humans should play in the governance of the high-speed trading right now? >> well, i think what you're going to see here is a lot more people are going to be staring at this on a regular basis. it's really incredible. you cannot write a perfect piece of code, and we don't have any perfect humans. but when you had people monitoring the situation a little more carefully, that, i think, can help reduce the problem. here on the new york stock exchange, bill, on day it happened with night at 9:32 or 33, the people here were starting to run around saying what the heck is going on? humans spotted it immediately. there was a problem of actually shutting the thing off, the

program that had started. that's whykill switch is not a bad idea. obviously, the best thing is not to have the problem at all. then you won't need a kill switch. but absent that, absent the fact you can't write perfect code, you can make it better, number one, and number two, if you can't figure out what's wrong with it, just find a way to shut it down quickly. >> well, chalk one up for humans in that case. >> amen. good for us. thanks, bob. >> great insights. bob, thank you. we got 25 minutes before the closing bell sounds for a tuesday. a market under pressure but well off the low. dow industrial down about 50 points right now, as you can see there. >> and here's a question they're asking in denver today. should you change your investment strategy depending who wins the election in november? we're going to ask the ceo of janus capital. after the bell, he ran compensation funds for victims of september 11th and the bp oil spill. now ken feinburg has been hired to settle penn state's sexual

abuse claims. how will he determine what victims receive? he'll join us later on the "closing bell." back in a moment.

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finally some good news for drivers. gasoline prices falling a bit for the first time in six days. sharon epperson is here with details. >> you are so excited about this story, bill. we are looking at gasoline futures that are down 2% today, and that should mean you'll eventually start to pay lower prices at the pump. you're already doing that a little bit. we've looked that the november contract, which had a six-day winning streak. that's now come to an end. there's another factor at work here. that is the seasonal shift we're seeing in gasoline futures prices as refiners switch from the more expensive summer grade of gasoline to the winter grade of gasoline. we see a big drop in the gasoline futures price. that's already starting to translate to lower prices at the pump. you're paying about three cents less for the national average than you did a week ago. $3.78 a gallon is still the national average. that's 11% higher than what you

paid this time last year. there you have it, bill. >> yes, it is. thank you very much, sharon. see you later. so today will mark -- assuming we finish lower, it will be the sixth in the last eight sessions that the dow has been down. so we're wondering whether this stealth bull market that we've seen for the last several months is running out of steam, and will october be a scary month or a good one? >> joining us right now from denver is janus capital ceo richard wile. good to have you on the program, dick. thanks for joining us. >> hi, maria. thanks for having me back. >> i know you're getting ready for the big debate tomorrow night between the president and mitt romney. i want to ask you about politics and investing. first, what do you think about this market? what are you hearing from clients? you think we're going to continue to see chasing of high beta stocks or has this market gotten tired? >> our clients are scared. what we're hearing first and fare mo foremost is a lot of uncertainty. is europe going to melt down?

are we going to have a fiscal clif cliff in the u.s.? is israel going to bomb snooirn on top of that, they're hearing the dysfunctional politics from the u.s. election. they're hearing president obama does not have the answer. they hear from the other side that neither does mitt romney. they're scared. so many of our clients have actually been on the sidelines. this has been a relatively low volume rally. i think it still has legs. i think multiples are reasonable and there's still room to go. >> that's what we have pondered here lately, dick. is this sort of stealth rally, as i called it before -- here we sit near 5 1/2 rear hiyear high the market, even as we worry and wring our hands over those issues. why do you think that is? >> well, i think that investors have been through a difficult decade, especially equity investors in the united states have suffered some real turmoil in their returns, and they've been bombarded by these messages that generate fear.

they're legitimate concerns. the world is a very uncertain place. so we're telling -- >> who's buying -- that's the question, who's doing the buying right now? >> i don't think i have a perfect answer for you on that. i can't identify all the buyers out there for you. i'm sorry. >> okay. >> are they chasie ining growth? i mean, yours for a long time has been a growth shop. just the last several weeks we're seeing managers chase some of those growth companies. where's the money moving, the money that you are seeing moving? >> well, growth has outperformed value this year. we've seen it has happened in stocks that are the larger, better known names. so what we're seeing is that as the fear translates through equity investing, those folks who are buying equities tend to buy the larger, better known names. those names have done quite well relative to the rest of the indices. >> so let's talk politics then. how do you want to invest in this uncertain environment ahead of the debate happening tomorrow

night in your sni whcity? what are you telling clients? >> i think there's a real risk people get derailed from their long-term plans by focusing on the short-term noise around the debates. proceed with caution. you have a long-term retirement obligation you're trying to plan for that's decades ahead. you need to keep on the path of investing with that in mind. it seems very likely that in the political system of the united states gridlock is being rewarded rather than solutions. no matter what wins presidency, it seems likely we'll still have gridlock with with the congress. as a consequence, the presidential election problem matters less in terms of the outcome than the campaigns are certainly likely to paint in the media. so we're telling our people to stick with their long-term plans and to proceed cautiously with one eye on capital preservation and one eye on staying in the markets so you get the benefit of the stealth rally.

>> we keep hearing from ceos that they're waiting for signals from washington, not so much from the monetary side, but more the fiscal side. they want to see some progress on the fiscal cliff. they want to know their tax base is going to be for next year. they want to know what capital gains rates are going to be. you know, all those things. do you think that really is what could end the log jam for a lot of small investors out there to get them back into the market again? >> i think that would certainly help. i think we will get through this election with a lot of uncertainty. just on the oh side of the election, it seems likely that everybody's incentives will change and congress will go to work on some of the worst parts of the fiscal cliff. i think that could engender a lot of confidence and some re-entry by retail investors. >> all right, dick. good to see you. thank you for joining us. have a good conference tomorrow. >> thank you very much. >> you got it. >> we'll see you soon, dick. >> head of janus. all right, heading toward the

close here. 18 minutes left. we're coming off the lows, down 48 points on the dow. >> remember when president obama said this -- >> somebody helped to create this unbelievable american system that we have that allowed you to thrive. somebody invested in roads and bridges. if you've got a business, you didn't build that. >> coming up, i'll be speaking to somebody who certainly did build it. his own business into a $100 billion plus business. one of the world's most successful companies, oracle, ceo larry ellison will join me. >> really looking forward to that. first, talking about huge companies. coca-cola's ceo muhtar kent lays out his strategy to keep coke from going flat. stay tuned.

welcome back. just want to point out we are seeing a bit of a reverse. some money coming into this market as we head to the close.

the dow jones industrial off of the worst levels. app apple, nasdaq, and s&p 500 all showing gains. apple is 20% of the nasdaq 100. the stock has an immediate impact on the averages, which is why, you know, you look at this stock and say, as apple goes, so goes the market. that's exactly what's happening in the final few minutes of trading here. the dow jones industrial average also bouncing. apple having a big bounce about 2:30 p.m. eastern time. the nasdaq is up 3.5. the dow down off of the worst level with a decline of about 40 points. well, the search for jimmy hoffa is not over. our detroit affiliate just reporting this. the soil samples removed from beneath a driveway in this detroit area home last week have been tested and no signs of human remains. remember, we were telling you there was speculation his body was here. the search was a response to a tip that the remains of the

missing teamster's boss could be buried there. hoffa was last seen in 1975. >> i'm telling you, he's in giants stadium. i'm telling you. >> we'll keep watching this. >> let's talk a happy story, shall we? >> oh, my god. all right. bill, you're cracking me up. coca-cola is still number one when it comes to brand value. we want to talk about this latest interbrand ranking, puts the beverage giant in the top spot for the 13th year in a row. >> as the most recognized brand in the world, we're wondering how coca-cola can stay ahead of the curve, especially with soda sales falling for the past seven years and concerns of a slowing global economy that's so important to a company like coca-cola. that doesn't apparently bother our next guest. look at the big smile on ceo muhtar kent. he's ringing the closing bell in few minutes and joins us for this first on cnbc interview.

congratulations again on the additi distinction of being the number one brand in the world. >> thank you. >> even as sales go, you have so many different brands out there. i guess diversification is what helps. you're not just a soda company, per se, are you? >> firstly, we're very humbled by being selected as the best brand and the most valuable brand. it's a great responsibility. i want to thank all our consumers who invite us into their lives 1.8 billion times every day. >> and they have a lot of brand to choose from. >> they have a wide choice. certainly much wider than before. i just want to make sure that i do say that coca-cola has been growing in the world for us in the last three, four years in a row. every quarter. in fact, we've been posting growth. in today's world, i think the key is to be able to -- if you're a brand that is 126 years

young like us, you have to be able to ensure that you can take that wonderful heritage and fuse it with what is needed today and what is expected by consumers and stay relevant every single day. >> maria? >> and, you know, muhtar, it seems to me your brand is one of those brands that really does have the resilience, even in tough economic times. of course, we've heard from fedex. we've heard from caterpillar, norfolk southern. a number of large multinational companies talking about the slow down in the global economy. where do you see the most weakness right now? is it the european story? is it asia slowing? what can you tell us about the world right now, muhtar? >> well, firstly, when you're a global company, and certainly the world has been very volatile in the macro sense economically in the last four years, since

2009. can you crack the calculus for growth in this economy? the answer for us is yes, we have been able to crack that calculus for growth. we haven't wasted the crisis. i guess that's the key. we've been able to ensure we can continue to increase investments in our brands, and that's why our brands are more relevant today and healthier today than they've been for all our history. >> where is it most challenging right now for you in the world? >> i think probably europe certainly is going to continue to go through some difficult times. not any worse than it's been. it is stabilizing. but it certainly is not going to see a recovery immediately. the recovery is going to be long in europe. in the united states, i think -- >> yeah, how about the u.s.? >> i believe that u.s. is going to lead the world out of this current stalemate for sure. we see some improving signs,

consumer sentiment in the united states. housing is coming back in the united states. we're investing. we've invested $10 billion in the u.s. market over the last three years. we do see some more positive signs coming into the united states. >> maria. >> muhtar, in terms of your use of capital, the trend, of course, has been companies raising their dividends in an environment where investors can't find any yield anywhere given the rock bottom interest rates. should we be expecting another move on your dividend? how will you be allocating your cash in the coming year? >> the same way we've done it in the past three, four years, which is essentially ensuring that our cap ex needs are met for growth. certainly dividends. then share buy back and then also, you know, whatever we see out there as interesting opportunities for any acquisitions. >> still looking for acquisitions, are you?

>> no, not looking for acquisitions. we've had small, relevant pieces, companies that may fit into -- like the recent juice company we acquired in the middle east. like vitamin water we acquired in the states. like innocent we acquired in england. that's done very well for us. >> i know the exchange officials are getting nervous. they want to get you upstairs. >> thank you for having me again. it's great to see you again. >> you too, thanks. >> all right. coming up on the "closing bell" -- priehe's drinking a li coke right now. >> you're right. i just looked at my watch. >> i see. down 40 points right now, maria. >> all right. after the bell, the exclusive interview you can't afford to miss. join me for the oracle ceo larry ellison. we're back in a moment. ♪ [ male announcer ] how do you make 70,000 trades a second...

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for the day. again, the trend usually starts with the euro for our markets here. we're not asking for aid from the european central bank any time soon. imminent was the word he used. that took the wind out of that sail, and the euro is heading lower ever since. same thing happened to the dow. it was cascading lower anyway, but the biggest selloff occurred around that noontime announcement. we've been bumping along. now here we go in the last hour, which lately has been the worst hour for the market, we found. but not today. we started to see a bounce for the major averages. one of the biggest reasons, we think, is apple. somebody tell tim cook once and for all, just split the stock. do a four-for-one. then they can put you in the dow jones industrial average, then you'll be part of the 30 stocks we follow so often in the

market. look at this comeback rally for apple today. sharply lower until the last hour. now it looks like we're going to finish positive on the session. the ten-year yield was a safe haven play today. in the morning it was higher. then they started to buy those treasuries and the yeield came down. defensive nature to the sectors that were doing well today. the classic defensive plays, health care and utilities leading the way followed by everybody's favorite these day, telecom, because of that dividend play. the financials are squeaking out a gain at the close. peter costa, what do you make of this late comeback? >> we've seen the last few days where the market's been up and sold off towards the end of the day. this is just a reversal. i think towards the end of the day we've seen a lot of reversals. you know, short positions being covered. >> the spanish, we believe they'll eventually ask for help from the european central bank. >> get it over with.

>> what does the market do when that finally happens? >> well, i think there will be a sigh of relief. one of the question marks that's been overhanging the market for the last six months will be answered. i would imagine it would be not fully answered, but it will be answered. i think the market will probably rally after that. i guess we'll go to earnings season and follow it through there. >> are you already handicapping the unemployment number on friday? the expectations are for job growth of about 113,000, which is a little better, but still anemic. >> yeah, i actually think it's going to be better than that. i am handicapping it a little higher than that. i think we're seeing an up trend. watching the housing market, watching automotives, watching, you know, the large employers in this country starting to build up steam again. i do think that number will be better. >> thank you, peter. always good to see you. that's the first hour of trade. again, muhtar kent, the ceo of coca-cola, a company that's been inside the dow